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I don’t know about you, dear ones, but many of my friends, family, coworkers and I are experiencing extremely high stress. Therefore, I feel called to offer what small wisdom I have for what you can do to counteract this lack of balance in your environment and our world.  As you may know, I am a strong believer in the calming and healing power of crystals. When people ask me, “How the heck could a piece of rock help heal my body?, I will point them to the wisdom of the chakra system.

It is becoming widely known that crystals can be curative for the emotional body, the spiritual body, and the physical body. And, we have learned that crystals can interact electromagnetically with people. The prehistoric medicine man and shamans knew instinctively how to harness this stone power and use it to enhance or stimulate energy; they never doubted the power of the unseen. Modern shamans talk about the body in a different way; they are in tune with and are working with the etheric body, the subtle life force that sustains the physical body and serves as the matrix for the metabolic functions. They work with the system of chakras (points of energy in the astral body that are associated with various parts of the physical body) and endeavor to make sure everything is in proper alignment. Illness beginning with misalignment of either the etheric body or physical body can result in a domino effect of maladies. Imbalance in the etheric body can cause low energy; depression; stress-related diseases such as shingles, ulcers, and migraines; and any number of other serious physical issues

 Your body knows the seasons are changing  before your mind does. Your bones feel the slight chill that hints to the coming of fall can the wind on your skin is colder. As your mind turns to warmer thoughts of bonfires and feasts, the best way to prepare for the coming of autumn and harvest high holidays, is to ramp up the sacred self-care until your skin is actually smoother and much  softer then silk. But, why pay so much for tiny jars full of chemicals when you can whip up a yummy blend of healing herbs and restorative essential oils that is far cheaper, healthier and imbued with your personal magic? What you’ll need:

stainless steel saucepan

Nothing is more relaxing than a massage and it is so good for you- healing and energizing, to be sure.Massage bars should be look, smell and feel yummy, lush and soothing to the skin. Cocoa butter is beloved for the delicious chocolate sweet scent. I also recommend shea butter, grapeseed oil or mango butter as other options for they are also delightfully sumptuous.

Some people love the taste of kombucha tea; others don’t relish it at all.  It has been credited with miraculous properties and is a probiotic, making it very curative for digestive issues.  Kombucha also comes recommended for acne, constipation, arthritis, depression, and fatigue, and is hailed as a protection against cancer.  I regard it as a tasty tonic, and my family drinks it daily.  My nephews were the first to taste kombucha, and they loved its fizziness and flavor.  This healthful drink is easy to make so long as you have a “ferment” (some people call it a “mushroom” because of the way it looks).  To procure your ferment, try to find somebody who brews kombucha already.  They should have plenty of ferments to share, as every batch of tea grows an extra ferment on top of the original.

 1 large wide-necked glass jar, cloth or paper towel to cover the jar,

Instead of expensive over-the-counter products, we use hydrogen peroxide, witch hazel, calamine lotion, aloe vera gel, and both arnica cream and calendula cream.  We are ready for (almost) anything! Creams and ointments are often expensive to buy but can be made easily at home.  Here is an easy recipe to make your own curative cream.

Comfrey is beloved by kitchen witches and is one of the best-known healing herbs of all times. It has even been referred to as “a one-herb pharmacy” for the inherent curative powers.  Well-known and widely used by early Greeks and Romans, the very name, symphytum, from the Greek symphyo means to "make grow together," referring to its traditional use of healing fractures. Comfrey relieves pain and inflammation. Comfrey salve will be a mainstay of your home first aid kit. Use it on cuts, scrapes, rashes, sunburn, and almost any skin irritation. Comfrey salve can also bring comfort to aching arthritic joints, and sore muscles.

Lavender-Comfrey Cure-All Salve

The Beloved who I live with, has a different sensibility about what our yard should look like than I do.  This Beloved finds comfort in order, in straight lines, and in carefully cut and trimmed plants.  Yet, in the over twenty five years in which this Beloved and I have been in relationship, they have also come to understand that I am nourished by the wildness of the wisteria vines and the buzz of bees that annually make our porch sing in the Spring.  I am nourished by the small red tea roses clambering up into the tree entwining with her branches so that red blossoms peer from unexpected places throughout the Summer.  I am nourished by the sweetness of blackberry brambles scrambling over and under the back fence from the neighbor’s yard, brambles with thorns that protect them so that harvesting must be done with full presence and attention in the midst of my rapture as Summer turns to Fall.  And then there are the Dandelions, which in our climate can bloom even in the Winter.  The Dandelions have come to almost fully populate what was once a grass lawn all around the house.  Even in drought years the Dandelions persist with their dark green leaves, brilliant yellow flowers, and whimsical puff balls.  I am most certainly nourished by Dandelions.